Among all the uncertainty over ITV's "News at When," one thing at least has remained constant - Sir Trevor.

Time and again he has been voted the most popular newsman in Britain, and in a poll last year he was voted more trustworthy than Tony Blair.

And with the departure from mainstream bulletins of the BBC's Michael Buerk and Peter Sissons, he is one of the few 50-plus news anchors left.

The veteran newsman is also the face of ITV's flagship current affairs programme, Tonight with Trevor McDonald, which was named programme of the year at the Royal Television Society's journalism awards.

Martin Bashir might get the big scoops but Sir Trevor remains the public face of ITV news and current affairs.

During the war with Iraq he anchored ITV's main evening bulletin from Kuwait. In a triumph of scheduling it was moved forward an hour to 9pm and had audiences of up to 10 million, more than watched the 10pm news on BBC1.

Now the ITV news may be on the move again, possibly to a new permanent home at 10.30pm. With one year left on his contract, it could prove Sir Trevor's swansong.

"I have a contract until I'm 65," said Sir Trevor, who was ITN's first black journalist when he joined the news organisation in 1973. "That will probably be enough. They will have had enough of me by then."

Privately Sir Trevor would like his own interview show, just like the big name anchors in the US. So don't bet on his departure from the screens.